Adelaide knew all of this because the owner had once told her so.

“You didn’t.” Sophie’s voice was tight, strangled. “No, Ad.”

Adelaide giggled, because what else was she to do? Despite the drama that would soon engulf them, her best friends were about to be in same vicinity for the first time in ten years. The occasion was momentous—a feat only Adelaide could coordinate.

Because this SOS wasn’t just about her. Adelaide’s gallbladder might’ve turned her life upside down, but her upcoming surgery had given her the opportunity to make lemons out of lemonade. She had a plan—to reunite her estranged best friends with an SOS after The Fight a decade ago had broken their three-pack apart.

CHAPTER THREE

Sophie

Sophie Walden wasn’t the kind of woman who minced words. It came from years of being in the nursing field, where directness was an asset. Sure, empathy and compassion were key to a caregiver’s success—she herself didn’t appreciate hardened nurses who’d forgotten the plight of the sick—but there was no substitution for the straightforward truth.

But Sophie also believed truth could be told with grace. Her mother had excelled at this sleight of hand, with hidden messages behind her words, often peppering her constructive criticisms with the sweet addition of an endearing nickname to ease the sting. This belief also came from dealing with a partner—a husband in the eyes of the law—for twenty years who lived and died by her opinions. It came from her children’s reactions to her mood.

And despite the avalanche of conflicting emotions at seeing Regina Castro unload her car, Sophie remembered that Adelaide had been and was in pain. So instead of launching into a tirade, Sophie simply asked, “What is she doing here?”

Adelaide mumbled something indecipherable, brushed past her, and rushed to the oak door, throwing it open. Light spilled across the threshold. The moment was straight out of the past, when once upon a time, Adelaide opened her home for get-togethers with Sophie and Regina. It was a moment of déjà vu so vivid that Sophie had to remind herself that it was 2021, not 2011.

With Regina’s appearance, The Fight rushed back in full clarity, as if time simply picked up where it had left off. Then again, The Fight was never resolved. It wasn’t resolved because she and Regina had simply walked away from each other, and life had gone on. Despite Sophie’s multiple attempts at reconciliation with Regina, they’d both moved on and somehow were able to each negotiate, over time, a friendship with Adelaide, but not with each other.

Regina appeared at the door, a vision of color, dragging a green hard-shell suitcase with her. Her long brown hair was highlighted, some strands red against the sun. She wore a sunny yellow flowered shirt and white jeans, complementing her light brown skin. Divorce and civilian life looked good on her.

“Oh my God, first of all, Northern Virginia is so pretty. And this town! I’m seriously packing up my business to bring it here. Your foyer, so beautiful! I recognize so many things! And you! I missed your face!” Regina, the epitome of a chatterbox, threw herself at Adelaide.

Sophie winced at Regina’s insensitivity to Adelaide’s pain.

Then, Regina’s attention migrated to one of Adelaide’s decorations on the wall and she commented on it, too. “How do you make everything look so good?” Her eyes scanned the rest of the room. And when she turned, her gaze landed squarely on Sophie.

Sophie met her eyes and willed herself to smile.

Or at least, grit her teeth together. In truth, Sophie’s insides were a furnace lit by a decade-old ember.

Regina’s eyes widened, and she stepped back. She side-eyed Adelaide, whose entire face had flushed pink. “Um, what’s going on? And what’s she doing here? You sent me an SOS.”

“Well, at least we got the same story for this trick,” Sophie added. Somehow, though, she’d had a tiny inkling that something like this was going to happen, eventually. Adelaide had occasionally brought up Regina in their conversations, as if testing the waters, admittedly smoothing some of the jagged edges of their past. But there had been no lead-up to this moment, no hints dropped. Sure, Sophie thrived on the unexpected—hospitals were a hotbed for it—but this, from Adelaide?

This trip was supposed to be Sophie’s getaway. Besides her primary mission to help Adelaide, her plan was to relax.

Sophie shook her head. “I left Jasper and my girls, Adelaide. I took days off without pay. This is wrong.”

“I know, you guys…” Adelaide looked at them with those doe eyes, a hand reached out to each. “So I tricked you both, sort of. But I didn’t lie. Reggie, I said I needed help with Gen, because you are the most fun person I know, and Soph, I said I needed a nurse because you’re the best caregiver I know. All of these things are the God’s honest truth, pinky swear.”

Ah, those eyes. Sophie always fell for those eyes. Her twins had the same look—and they also knew when to wield it. She shook her head, undecided on what to do. This was not ideal, but Sophie refused to be the one to leave. Ten years ago, it was she who had quietly slinked away, but she was here first, quite frankly. And she couldn’t go back to Tampa. Not yet.

Not until she figured out herself and her relationship with Jasper.

Regina dipped her chin. Then, she started to laugh.